Gender-based Violence (GBV) in Africa: Hurdles and Hopes

Here's a little compare and contrast exercise on the scourge of gender-based violence in countries with differing fortunes, leadership, and social norms...


An Overview of Gender-Based Violence in Liberia and Zambia

Liberia

State of gender-based violence in Liberia

Generally speaking, gender-based violence in Liberia remains at elevated levels in the post-war environment despite recent improvements in Gender-Based Violence (GBV) indicators. Key statistics and talking points include:
•    Rape, particularly of those between the ages of 10 and 14, is the most reported GBV crime in Monrovia at approximately 8 incidences per week according to police statistics.
•    Although a rape law was enacted in December 2005 which made rape a crime with a maximum of a life sentence for those found guilty, rape cases have continued to rise according to rights groups. Half of reported rape cases are attacks against teenage girls between the ages of 10 to 15 years old according to government statistics.
•    Police response to reports of GBV have improved somewhat in 2008, but efforts to prosecute these cases are hampered by deficiencies in the justice system and the regular dismissal of cases due to out-of-court settlements between families of the victims and the perpetrators.
•    A baseline from which increases or decreases in GBV could be measured is the incidence rate during the Liberian civil war, during which up to 91% of women and girls were subjected to multiple acts of violence.

How have Liberians addressed GBV?

For the Liberian government, GBV has become a hot button issue, particularly so since the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2005. Under her auspices, rape within marriage was finally codified as a criminal offense. To further articulate the Liberian government’s new, stronger stance on violence against women and girls, President Sirleaf drafted a GBV National Action Plan in 2008, which proposed to:
•    strengthen the health sector for effective and efficient response to GBV case management, documentation and reporting on clinical evidence;
•    reform the legal system to deal more efficiently and expeditiously with violence, particularly with the security of  women and girls;
•    establish systems and outreach services for psychosocial support and ‘safe homes’ for survivors of GBV;
•    provide appropriate skills to social and health professionals; and
•    support women and girls’ economic and social empowerment.

On a grassroots/community level, numerous women’s organizations have sprung up throughout Liberia with the objective of educating women about laws against GBV, sensitizing the local populations about women’s and girls rights, and providing guidance and/or safe havens to victims of domestic violence. These support groups and organizations include The Women’s NGO Secretariat of Liberia, National Women’s Commission of Liberia, Women Aid Society, and Zor Zor District Women’s Care. An especially memorable story of women’s empowerment can be found in Bong country north of Monrovia:

Local women in Palala, Liberia formed the Kpaai Women’s Literacy Association. Initially the goal was to provide mutual support to women to survive the civil war, but now focus on social problems within the community. The women in this organization have taken the time to learn about the new laws criminalizing rape within marriage, and use this knowledge to guide GBV victims in their community and surrounding areas when they have been beaten by their husbands: the women do not hesitate to join together and exert their power as a group; together, they can make life very uncomfortable for the local chief or men who are mistreating their wives.

Zambia

State of gender-based violence in Zambia

In recent years, violence against women and girls in Zambia has been on the increase, according to data collected by the government’s Central Statistical Office. Unlike Liberia, Zambia has historically been a relatively stable and prosperous sub-Saharan African country and has not had to endure a lengthy post-war rebuilding process like their West African counterparts. The cause of the increasing incidence rates of GBV, therefore, are not immediately obvious. Key indicators include:
•    The percentage of women who reported having experienced physical violence in the 12 months prior increased from 23 percent in 2001/2 to 33 percent in 2007. This increase was observed in all age groups apart from the age group 15-19 years.
•    Those who had completed either primary or secondary school reported higher incidences of physical violence than those who had no education. This could be due to greater willingness among those with an education to report GBV.
•    77% of GBV perpetrators were husbands or former husbands.
•    15% of those aged 15-19 had experienced sexual violence; and 21% of those 20-24.
•    30% of those 15-19 year old who had reported sexual violence, experienced their first episode by age 14.
•    Of those who were less than 15 years old when first abused, 34% reported that they have experienced sexual violence from a stranger, 19% reported they have experienced sexual violence from a relative (other than their father), and 10% reported that they have experienced sexual violence from a friend or acquaintance. 

One possible explanation for the rise in reported GBV cases is that victims benefiting from guidance and reassurance from NGOs in Zambia are more willing to report their experiences than they used to be. The Young Women’s Christian Association, for example, revealed that the number of GBV cases reported to the NGO’s centers more than doubled between 2007 and 2008.

How have Zambians addressed GBV?

As with President Sirleaf in Liberia, victims of GBV and their advocates apparently have a strong champion for their cause. President Rupiah Banda launched a national campaign against GBV in October 2009 with the publication of the National Communication Strategy against Gender-Based Violence. While this is a positive step toward dealing with violence against women, change in official circles has been historically slow to occur:
•    Zambia still has no specific GBV legislation, though a draft bill has been in the review process as of July 2009.
•    Provisions in the penal code do not criminalize marital rape and psychological abuse. 

More encouragingly, the government has taken steps to establish at least 6 ‘coordinated response centers’ throughout Zambia. These centers, in conjunction with local NGOs and with USAID funding, provide comprehensive legal, medical, and counseling services to victims and survivors of GBV. Other solutions at the local level include:
•    The Zambia National Women’s Lobby, which launched a campaign to raise awareness about GBV and to lobby the government to reform and strengthen national legislation on gender violence.
•    The “Lusaka-based Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) … runs a number of crisis centers that offer shelter as well as psychotherapy and legal advice to abused women.” They also provide safe havens and HIV/AIDS testing.
•    The newly-formed Tisunge Ana Athu Akazi Coalition, a consortium of twelve different NGOs in conjunction with the government conducting advocacy and media outreach against GBV.